#5 - ROME: FAMILY TIES

Our final stop on Eurotrip was the epic city of ROME, from there were hit a few different places.

ROME is home to many a great site, the Coliseum, Circus Maximus, St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican, Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, countless ruins & statues and ofcourse the best restaurant around Enoteca Corsi (no relation). My dad gave us the "whirlwind tour of Rome in one day and on the next day we toured the Vatican. It's a great city.

We spent a day visiting the Corsi Family hometown of MAENZA, this was particularily important for my father and I as we would be visiting the grave of my nonno for the first time. The grave was beautiful but it was still a sad moment for me. We had a monstrously huge lunch in a typical Maenza restaurant, saw countless relatives and made the long journey back.

If ruins are your thing, there are two fantastic Italian sites worth checking out, the legendary Pompeii or the ancient port city of OSTIA ANTICA. We spent a sunny afternoon touring the city streets which are in amazingly great shape, store fronts, theaters, palaces, walls, doors, there is a ton to see. It was a touch weird since it was so quiet there, walking along the cobblestone roads in utter peace gave you a really cool feeling almost like you were back in time while the town was vibrant. Well worth checking out.

My family lives in the seaside resort town of OSTIA DI LIDO, this was also our homebase during the final week of our trip. The best part of seeing my family is how loving and hospitable they are and my Aunt Ida is by far the best cook I know, each of her meals was a masterpiece. It was a great place and way to relax on the final days of the trip. One downer was that I got a "stomach virus" on the very last night so I spent an evening and a plane ride in the toilet but it didn't ruin a thing for me, my Family and Italy was awesome.

The family ties are strong in Italy.